WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The Department of Energy said on Thursday Hurricane Ike could affect fuel supply as refineries in the Gulf of Mexico are shut in the wake of the storm.

"We expect this will likely have fuel impacts. There is likely to be constraint in supply," Kevin Kolevar, assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability, told reporters.

He added that any gasoline supply problems would be limited to the Gulf Coast and the Eastern Seaboard.

Kolevar also said the energy department is prepared to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, if necessary.

Separately, the energy department has received two new requests from refineries for oil from the emergency stockpile because of supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Gustav, which hit the Gulf recently. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe)

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